Author: alohawild

I rose too early at 6:30 and started writing the blog. I was helping with a 10-2 church alignment meeting. While writing the blog, I ordered two dozen sliced bagels with a spread from Einstein Brothers and a jug of coffee. The order came with plastic knives, paper cups, and coffee stuff. I finished a short blog, and as I was coughing so badly on Friday, I stayed home and rescheduled my car adventures.

The car adventure is Kia vs. VW ID.4 (all-electric, EV). To be frank, the Kia is a cheap-ass gasoline compact SUV, but practical, and with a lease, I can give it back after a few years. The Kia is really a retro choice. The VW ID.4 is a new electric vehicle that has been sold for a few years and is thus forward-looking. Charging on long trips will be an adventure, but it is worth it in exchange for dropping oil changes and other maintenance costs. I understand that VW has a discounted lease program (the dealership still has not sent me the promised offer). Both choices are cheap (compared to 70-100K Volvo and other high-end options) and short-term decisions. Two weeks of renting the Ford Escape is about $370. Uber trips run $12-$25 each way, with longer trips running about $100. I am not prepared (yet) to live without a car.

Aside: The Ford Escape is out of production in 2025 and thus came off my list of options.

I finished the blog, washed up, shaved, and so forth, and then dressed for the day. I went with a dress shirt and sweater vest. My pants would now barely stay on. Hmmm. I still need to lose another twenty pounds to reach a good weight, but I need to buy another set of pants, size 38. Ugh! I should also replace the shirts, which are not yet too large.

Dressed and my belt, desperate to hold up my pants, Air Ford (Escape) took me to Einstein Brothers, and there, my order was ready. I walked across the parking lot, balancing a box and bag with coffee, and loaded the goodies onto the seats. The trip to the church was uneventful, with no signs of Beaverton’s Finest not being out to hand out bills for driving too fast or using their phone. I arrived just before the rest.

With a bit of chaos from using a smaller room, we got started and soon started talking about alignment and goals. We spent most of the morning and early afternoon listening to each other. I took notes as I was there to listen and help. I shared my notes when done and enjoyed a Pud Thai for lunch (lunch was provided).

I returned home and rested and read for a while. I finished the Pud Thai for dinner and, on the way to Richard’s, picked up some French fries and a shake from McDonald’s; not great food, but something I enjoy. I was soon explaining Ostia (Richard and I played it last in 2022—Richard records all his gaming in an app). I recently covered this game, so I will briefly describe it.

The game uses a Manacala system that can be brain-bending as your turn is decided by moving boats on a port. Thus, your decisions must comply with the Manacala, and this can take you to choices that are not perfect or even make a turn incomplete. This was the first time I played Ostia with four players, and James, while coming in second, had trouble remembering that the large cubes are three, not four or five. The play is layered and more nuisance than you think, and soon, you are working out three-dimensional constraints for your turn. Simple errors are costly. Richard managed to make the Mancala work for him and soon was leading and won a crushing victory. I was busy teaching still, and I think I can be forgiven for a third-place finish. Everyone enjoyed the new game style, found it a brain-burner, and wanted another shot at it. Excelllent.

Ostia is another Kickstarter-only game by a Japanese game designer. It has the best components, and while the rules can be a bit of a trial (Richard found that the Admin action is more powerful), I like it.

I returned home and soon was showered and in my PJs. I tried to read but soon was nodding off. I was asleep before 11, I think, and woke only before my alarm on Sunday at 7. Thanks for reading

My coughing and sneezing reached a level that caused me to slow down. I was tired, if not exhausted. The endless coughing and wheezing made it challenging to rest. However, I discovered that ibuprofen stopped the coughing and cleared my head. I was mainly suffering from irritation from coughing. Armed with a solution, I soon nodded off, watching old season 10 Classic Doctor Who in my comfy chair. I was able to sleep well Saturday night.

The day was dull. I rose at 7ish and started on the blog with liberal (Fair Trade certified) and a banana for breakfast. The coughing was endless, and soon, I contacted the Kia dealership and rescheduled my test drive. I have not heard from Volkswagen (VW) about their offer. I have found essential emails again in Junk, meaning I might have missed it. I finished (for me) a brief blog entry for Thursday. I dressed in a dress shirt and sweater vest (still thinking I was going car shopping when I dressed).

Volvo contacted me with a revised bill of $2,405.44. I will pay that off on Monday. With Volvo failing like this, I will be headed to a cheaper (Volvo wanting $75-$100K for a new car) and warrantied vehicle. With Volvo now laying the computer and wiring harness on the floor (thus, a leak now does $10K of water intrusion damage and is not covered by standard insurance), I will not be back to Volvo.

I did step out to Walgreens and got masks (I am out) and a COVID-19 test. I had tried to take a test and needed more coffee, but I put the drops in the wrong place, and so I blew the test. I redid the test, and it was negative. Yup, it’s just a regular coughing thing. I have never been positive for COVID-19 and had every f**king shot and kept all my inoculations current (there is proof from real science, opposite of the crazy ones, that inoculations actually cover more and make you healthier).

I read and completed Charles Stross’s A Conventional Boy: A Laundry Files Novel. The story is about a Dungeon Master mixed up in Lovecraftian horror (the character appears in some stories, meaning this is a retelling of the character’s start), which I enjoyed. There was also a set of short stories about the hero of the early books, Bob, and that made me happy to read more stories about Bob. I thought Mr. Stross had found his voice again, and I enjoyed this one (the previous ones were good but focused on new characters).

I ordered, Dondrea convincing me to rest for the day, local Chinese-styled food for lunch. The soup helped, and I did not realize how hungry I was. I would finish the fried pork rice for dinner (I have to be careful with rice as it becomes sugar fast). I read, rested, and watched more Doctor Who, switching to season 11 and some random starting storyline that was not bad. These shows are about twenty-five minutes long with a cliffhanger at the end to get the viewer to want to see the next one from the days when they for the days of ‘see or miss it’ TV. The hand puppets of dinosaurs were embarrassingly bad. The SciFi sliding doors were always fun as we know they are manual, and a few times, they were slower than expected. A few scenes clearly filled time with an expensive shot (The Doctor driving a Landrover, for example, with the camera on his face). Definitely an acquired taste and brain cookies.

With the coughing abating, I did some church paperwork and sent the results to Dondrea, Michael R, and Ken, who attended the meeting. This will be input for the alignment meeting on Saturday with the church members and leadership who do committees.

Soon, with less coughing, I read and fell asleep, only waking just before my 6:30 it-is-too-f**king-early-on-a-Satrurday alarm. Thanks for reading.

I am rushed this Friday morning, meaning I will only cover the highlights on Thursday.

Please also know that I still do not use the word ‘so,’ as it is recommended that you avoid it for better writing.

I had three events on Thursday, making the day messy. I had a lunch meeting with Scott at noon, church meetings (SPRC for those who speak Methodist), and then the Theology Pub dinner/meeting at 7. I managed to write the blog and publish it before I had to head out. I then revised it using the standard editor (which does not support Grammarly) when I realized missed part of Wednesday. Yikes!

I got a text from Brad, my former boss. He enjoyed my Christmas card, letter, and ‘Retired.’ business cards I included, which made him laugh. It finally arrived at the Nike WHQ, and he did not get it until he returned to work in January. He is sharing it with other folks at Nike IT. It was nice to hear from Brad.

Air Ford (Escape) delivered me to McMenamins at Cedar Hills without incident, and I soon met Scott there. Scott and I got caught up. Scott was in Italy, and I had been to Michigan and New Hampshire since we last saw each other. We talked briefly about money. Scott is starting the withdrawal process; I am a few years from that. It was good to see him, and the trip to Italy sounded fantastic. Scott and I agree that we shall travel while we still can; we expect travel to become problematic when we are in our 70s. Build those good memories while we can!

I drove next to Volvo and met Logan, the technician who had tried to save the vehicle, once known as the Air Volvo. The pine-gray-colored XC60 Volvo still looked great, but the inside was wrecked with parts thrown inside (I decided not to pay another $900 to reassemble the SUV). Logan helped me get all my personal items (toolbox, blanket, emergency items, and papers about the car) from the vehicle. They even found a long-ago canceled credit card stuck between some parts. Logan offered $500 for the wrecked Volvo, as scrapping would get me about $300. He repeatedly apologized for not being able to save the car. I was emotionally numb then; I loved that vehicle, paid it off, and even cleared the title. It hurt to say goodbye. I kicked the tire and thanked it. Tears for the past.

My emotions were jumbly, and I was tired, so I headed home. As I rested and nodded off, I completely forgot about the church Zoom meeting. I realized I had missed the meeting at 3ish and called Bob and apologized. He was OK, and they managed to handle the issues on the agenda without me.

The Volvo repair agent, Doug, whom I have worked with for years, called me and asked if he could walk my papers to Volkswagen (VW), another part of the dealership, and see if they could make me a good deal on an ID.4, about the same size as a Kia Sportage. I agreed. Soon, VW called, and they had a great deal on leasing the all-electric ID.4. I agreed to not close a deal on the Kia until I had reviewed the ID.4 (including a test drive).

I read more and rested. The cough and exhaustion were back. I left early for the Theology Pub at McMenamins at Cedar Hills (yes, I had lunch there, too). Air Ford (Escape) got me there without issue, and soon, I was sitting in the side room they gave us for our 10 (later 12) folks. Robert was our waiter and could break up the table bill anyway with the new handheld paying machines. Food and drinks flowed.

The topic, with two people on a remote Zoom call, but still could hear and be heard (to some degree), was Faith in Action and referred to the life of the recently passed American President, Jimmy Carter. The discussions were friendly, with only an occasional comparison to the president-elect, and the conclusion was that Jimmy Carter often made the best decisions that were unpopular based on his faith and trying to find the right decision for the country. It was also observed that staying with the truth and unpopular choices is more straightforward than remembering all the lies and unrealistic campaign promises and trying to align with them. It was also observed that Jimmy Carter lived his best years chiefly out of office and made the most extraordinary contributions then. Others should follow and remember his life.

Once the meeting concluded, I headed home, showered, put on my PJs, and tried to stop coughing enough to sleep. I read more while the coughing responded to meds, and soon, I drifted off. I woke early and rolled over a few times. I am, I think, still in the East Coast time zone.

I also reconnected to my IRS account. This required taking photos of my driver’s license, using my video to show I was a person, and setting another password for ID.me for the IRS. I then used their process to send a pile of cash to the IRS for 2024. After I spoke to my CPA yesterday–Cornerstone in Hillsboro, I saw him when I dropped off my first papers to do my 2024 taxes (an annual requirement), and he suggested avoiding the underpayment penalties if I could. I repeated the same process with Oregon, too. He also told me that the Volvo loss is not tax deductible. Sadly, my CPA also believes I will likely get the standard deduction next year, meaning donations will not change my taxes for 2025. Thus, donating the wreck of the Volvo has no meaning in taxes. F**k.

Thanks for reading!

My cough, car news, and trying to play games dominated Wednesday.

I rose before 7, but I am still not able to sleep late as my body is still tracking on East Coast time. I, again, am easily transitioned as humans, I have read, are really on a 25-hour, not the 24-hour, clock, and we naturally drift later. I make liberal coffee from Equal Exchange brand coffee in my French Press. The exhaustion is still there, and everything is a little harder to execute, but I manage a banana with my coffee. My weight has fallen to 228, about five pounds lost on the trip. I am trying to return to the habit of recording food in my app and closing the month for accounting. But today was a bad day for habits and remembering the past, as you will see, dear reader.

I am now vice-chair of the Church Council (technically Lay Leader for those who speak Methodist), and Pastor Ken had Dondrea, Michael R, and me over for what I would call an alignment meeting. Ken reviewed what he thought would be a good structure for now and how to make this work. We plan to meet with a larger group on Saturday to introduce this structure, me as vice-chair, and to dream about the future. We will then try to coalesce the discussion into measurable goals for 2025 for the church and each group with responsibilities (committees for Methodists). My job is to help get the non-mandatory committees (Mandatory: SPRC, Finance, Trustees, and Nominations) back to order, have monthly meetings and minutes, and track against goals. I aim to help remove the pain of running these committees and communication issues.

Yes, dear reader, I raised my head and was spotted by the church leadership. That sermon on ‘Truth’ cost more than just time and effort! I should know better. I am now in meetings—an unlimited number! But it seems time to walk back onto the stage of life. Here I go, and as Douglas Adams wrote, “We apologize for the inconvenience.”

I felt slightly behind, but then I realized I had only been back in this time zone for two days (on Wednesday) and felt better. I finished the blog, put on damp underwear (!?), put the rest of the clean laundry back in The Machine, and set it to dry for 90 minutes. That worked. The permanent press setting works perfectly, and remembering what Dad Wild said, always use the permanent press and remove pants and shirts before they are cold. This prevents them from wrinkling, and they are wearable out of The Machine. No ironing is needed unless you want to look crisp. And then the ironing will be easier, too. The drying fixed the issue.

Dressed, I headed to First United Methodist, Beaverton, and enjoyed the meeting I described. Jack was at the church, and I helped with some electrical work. The screw-on that holds the ruined fixture was stuck; I slammed it with the side of the pliers (to Jack and Dondrea’s surprise), and then it was released (like a stuck lid or, more likely, glued). I also suggested we put some protective covers on the windows. I will order some when I get some measurements.

I had heard nothing about the vehicle once known as Air Volvo and dropped by the Mothership. The news was grim. The associate who was working on the endlessly increasing expense had been fired. The new guys said there was no reason to continue as the total repairs could reach nearly $20,000, and I am currently looking at $15,000 to complete the known issues. There are likely other items, and the Volvo has 71,000 miles. To be clear, “He is dead, Jim.” F**k! They don’t even know what to charge me for the work done. F**k!

I was unhappy and talked to Deborah, and I soon used Costco Auto to order a discount on a new leased Kia Sportage (priced, new, with discounts, at $29,000 to $38,000 or 1/3 of a new Volvo or other expensive import). I have a test drive on Friday (I moved the appointment from Thursday as I forgot I was booked).

Dinner was reheated chicken and potatoes I had made a few days before. It was good and I watched more Battleship New Jersey videos when eating. I headed in Air Ford (Escape) to the church. There, I met Z and folks, and we tried to remember how to play Ostia. It uses a Mancala system, and this took both Z and me a while to get this back into our heads. The game uses a Mancala to generate resources and select the next action. A bit crazy but interesting. Z struggled with the process but soon started to make it work. I won, but it was a learning game.

Ostia is set in the Roman Empire around the first Ceasars, like Concordia, and is about getting your ships across the sea to their final point-winning location. You build ships, port facilities, and make your turns more and more efficient. The game is a race like Istanbul and Concordia with efficiency being the most important support. We liked it again, having not got it on the table in a year or so.

I headed home in Air Ford (Escape). I need a brain cookie! I returned to Charles Stross’s A Conventional Boy: A Laundry Files Novel. This novel combines the Lovecraft Mythos with AD&D with homebrew updates. It is really fun for someone like me who has played Dungeons and Dragons since AD&D 1E. It is a good brain cookie.

While fighting the cough, I find Milano cookies and a bucket of caramel corn from Gaylord, Michigan (I think from Aunt Cathy and Uncle Martin) just as important as the antihistamine I am taking. The coughing slowed with the meds, treats, and a shower, and I soon slept early. I did not wake up and had a good sleep.

As the day went on, I was coughing more and more. I think it was just the cough meds wearing off, and I am still tired from the flights, packing, and freezing on the USS Constitution on Sunday. The time difference, three hours, cannot be helping. I went to Safeway and got some more High Blood Pressure (HBP) versions of cold meds at 8 at night and could sleep soon. I also got holiday Milano cookies–Double Dark Chocolate–which might have helped as much as the meds!

I rose early at 7:45 and had some food, plain raisin toast with a banana, read the news, updated Quicken with transactions, and enjoyed liberal coffee made in my French Press. The taste of liberal every morning started when President Trump was elected for the first time. The coffee bitterness reminds me every morning how much work we liberals have to do and provides me with the Hope (maybe that is the caffeine, but it feels like Hope) that someday the world will remember Justice, Compassion, and the love of Community. I recommend drinking liberal coffee every morning.

Soon, I was rushing and fighting the drifting-like feeling and cleaned up, showered, and dressed. Using the recently laundered underwear and socks. Traffic was slow through Beaverton, taking thirty minutes to transverse the Tualatin Valley Highway (which even had its own wiki page here) to reach 217, which feeds into 26, which leads to 405, and gets me to the stadium area not far from Richard’s house. I was only a few minutes late, but James, coming from Washington State, appeared a few minutes later.

While we waited for James, I described my trip and said that Deborah and I were now seeing each other. Richard, James, and I start another scenario of the Second Edition of Mansion of Madness. James, who purchased a pre-painted used copy, found some pieces missing. This scenario was missing most of the boards and miniatures, but we found substitutes, and the app that runs the game provided most of the information we needed. This scenario, rated as difficult, was the first time I felt the game captured a Lovecraft modern horror feel. The sanity and health loss were slowly building and created a more subtle clock in the game–better. This was a re-animator story, and we actually, on our board, barricaded the chapel against a seemingly endless supply of zombies. Ultimately, we solved most of the scenario by defeating the main monster, abruptly ending the battle with the world facing a zombie invasion. Oops! I suspect there was a better solution to stop the zombies, but still, it was excellent and immersive. I really felt that this play was worthy of the subject. I am tempted to play it again and try to find another non-world-zombie-invasion solution.

I was tired and headed home hungry and exhausted. I resolved to cook a pork chop, got home, and talked to Deborah, who was now going home after work. I defrosted the chop, cleaned up some fresh green beans, steamed them, and then wilted them in a frying pan with butter, sliced almonds, and fresh sliced garlic. I reheated some potatoes from Costco that I made from frozen the day before.

The porkchop was fried in a metal frying pan on butter, with the chop covered with generic Italian spices and salt and pepper. Once sealed on both sides, I moved the whole into a 350F for ten minutes. With the internal temperature of 170F, it was done on time. I removed the chop from the pan, put a hot pad glove on the handle (it is 350F hot and is not fun when you forget and grab it), and added water and cornstarch to make a pan gravy that I poured over the potatoes. It was a lot of food! I could barely finish it. I finished the green beans, which were two helpings.

As usual, I watched Battleship New Jersey videos and ShipHappens (though I did fast-forward some of their endless repairs) while eating, with the history of the reactivation of the battleships and their final deactivation better explained. I remembered the argument in the 1980s that the WW2 armor was more protection from missiles and could likely take multiple hits without loss, unlike modern ships where one missile would take out a warship and two hits likely destroy the ship and kill the crew. The story, as told by Ryan, the curator of the battleship, is more direct. The US Navy had no new vessel to mount the latest missiles, and the battleship could be updated to carry them. Also, there was a dispute that the US Navy mission included using big guns to provide invasion support, and only the Iowa class, the ship class of USS New Jersey, could fit both missions. I did not know this story. The Iowa’s were finally removed from service as the new navy ships came online carrying the missiles with the Regan’s Navy build-up. Congress would not pay the two billion estimate and would not wait five years to upgrade/rebuild the Iowa class into battle carriers. The argument for the need for big guns, while disputed, was abandoned. A fascinating history of the Cold War, with the Navy mission changing from defeating the Soviet Union to facing ad hoc but still just as deadly threats from Iran and other ‘rogue’ nations.

BTW: The Russian nuclear-powered Peter the Great is the last big ship classed like the Iowas (here) in service and was the reason for reactivating the Iowa class battleship (now all museum ships).

I was slow and coughing. I was out of focus and decided to just stop. I decided to shower, put on my PJs, and read. The new book, A Conventional Boy: A Laundry Files Novel by Charles Stross, was released today. I got a Kindle version and read it while trying to sleep. Eventually, I slept.

Thanks for reading.